Mitt Romney Will Help Our Auto Industry Become Stronger And More Competitive

As a Michigan native and the son of a car guy, Mitt Romney has always believed that a strong auto industry is an essential component of the nation’s economy. He has a plan that will help the auto industry move forward into a new era of innovation and dominance.

Domestic Energy Production That Aids Manufacturing: We are on the cusp of a manufacturing renaissance in the United States, and it will be made possible by an abundant supply of cheap, reliable energy within our borders. Mitt Romney will have a true all-of-the-above strategy that includes coal, natural gas, oil and other resources.

Trade That Works For Our Auto Industry: Our workers make the best cars in the world. We must develop markets abroad where our cars can be sold. Mitt Romney will open new markets to American automakers far more aggressively than this President has.

Stand Up To China And Level The Playing Field: Mitt Romney will stand up to countries like China that don’t play by the rules. Starting on day one, Mitt Romney will make clear to China that they must respect the intellectual property of American manufacturers and open their markets to American products.

Lower Our Corporate Tax Rate To Boost Competitiveness: Mitt Romney will reduce the corporate tax rate, so that our carmakers can compete on a level playing field both at home and around the world, and can afford to invest more in breakthrough products. He will also stop the foolish practice of imposing an extra tax on our automakers when they sell cars overseas so they can reinvest the profits here at home.

Get Government Out Of The Car Business: President Obama has told Detroit what kind of cars to build, implemented extraordinarily onerous regulations that will drive up the cost of each car by thousands of dollars, and to this day owns more than one quarter of General Motors. Mitt Romney will get the federal government out of the auto industry and eliminate regulations that distort the market and drive up costs.

A Reminder – Mitt Romney supported a managed bankruptcy process for our automakers, which is what President Obama ultimately agreed to support:

Months After Taking Office, President Obama Finally Arrived At The Conclusion That Managed Bankruptcy Was Preferable To His Initial Strategy. “The Obama’s administration’s leading plan to fix General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC would use bankruptcy filings to purge the ailing companies of their biggest problems, including bondholder debt and retiree health-care costs, according to people familiar with the matter. … President Barack Obama’s task force has told both companies that the administration prefers this route … rather than the prolonged out-of-court process that has thus far frustrated administration officials.” (The Wall Street Journal, 3/30/09)

The Obama Administration Ultimately Found Bankruptcy To Be The Only Way Forward. “The administration says a ‘surgical’ structured bankruptcy may be the only way forward for GM and Chrysler, and President Obama held out that prospect Monday. ‘I know that when people even hear the word ‘bankruptcy,’ it can be a bit unsettling, so let me explain what I mean,’ he said.” (The Wall Street Journal, 3/30/09)

What did Governor Romney NOT support? Labor Union handouts, giving American companies to foreign owners, ill-considered dealership closings, and keeping government in the car business:

President Obama’s Handling Of The Bailout Gave The United Auto Workers Union A Majority Ownership Stake In Chrysler. “The Obama administration’s decision to bail out Chrysler gave the union trust what was initially a majority ownership position of 55 percent of its shares.” (Reuters, 6/3/11)

The Obama Administration Handed Over Control Of Chrysler To Fiat, An Italian Automaker. “Chrysler LLC, for years America’s third-biggest automaker, survived perhaps the most dire of its periodic near-death experiences in 2008 and 2009, when the federal government forced it into bankruptcy, pumped in $10 billion in taxpayer funds and put it under the control of the Italian automaker Fiat, with the auto workers union as the company’s biggest shareholder.” ((The New York Times, 7/30/12)

President Obama’s Auto Task Force Pressed GM And Chrysler To “Close Scores Of Dealerships Without Adequately Considering The Jobs That Would Be Lost.” “President Obama’s auto task force pressed General Motors and Chrysler to close scores of dealerships without adequately considering the jobs that would be lost or having a firm idea of the cost savings that would be achieved, an audit of the process has concluded.” The New York Times, 7/18/10)

The Obama Administration “Contributed To The Accelerated Shuttering Of Thousands Of Small Businesses” And Potentially Added “Tens Of Thousands Of Workers” To The Unemployment Lines. (CNN Money, 7/19/10)

General Motors Now Wants The Government To Sell Its Stake In The Company, But The Obama Administration Is Resisting. “The Treasury Department is resisting a push by General Motors Co. to sell the government’s entire stake in the auto maker – the latest source of tension between two unlikely partners thrust together at the depths of the financial crisis. U.S. taxpayers kept the nation’s largest auto maker by sales afloat with a $50 billion bailout in 2009 and now own 26.5% of the Detroit company. But GM executives have grown increasingly frustrated with that ownership and the stigma of being known as ‘Government Motors.’” (The Wall Street Journal, 9/17/12)

Taxpayers Are Taxpayers Are Currently Projected To Lose More Than $25 Billion On The Bailouts Of Auto Industry. (U.S. Treasury Department, 8/12)

Republican Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan thanks former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for her remarks at a rally at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, Ohio on October 17, 2012.
(Photo – John Kuntz/ The Plain Dealer)

Things are jumping in swing-state Ohio!

For the first time this campaign season, Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hit the campaign trail yesterday for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan. At a packed college sports stadium in Berea, Ohio, just outside of Cleveland, Senator Rob Portman pumped up the crowd while introducing Rice. She spoke of the pivotal crossroad our country is now at and, how her service as Secretary of State enabled her to see how important America’s role is in the world. Following her inspirational remarks, VP candidate Paul Ryan gave a rousing speech to the enthusiastic crowd.

Here’s video:

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice:

“I’m here because I want, like you, to see this country prosper, to see this country continue to be a place of unlimited opportunity, to see this country lead the world toward prosperity, and liberty, and peace. And so, I’m here to support Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan in this quest.”

“This is a pivotal time in our country’s history.”

The last four years have been very tough on folks who just want to work hard and make a living. … Many Americans out of work wonder if they’re ever going to work again and, you know, they have reason to [worry] because the longer you’re out of work, the less likely you are to find a job. And so, when Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan say they’re going to put this country back to work – THIS IS AN URGENT CALL – not one for which we can wait another four years.”

After the event, Ryan, Rice, and Portman toured the Cleveland Browns football training facility.

To see video of Ryan, Rice, and Portman touring the Brown’s football training facility click here.

Rasmussen polling shows Obama up by just one point in this important swing-state – Obama – 49%, Romney – 48%. Readers, we need VICTORY in this state! Are you doing EVERYTHING possible to help? We’ve got 19 days to get this thing done. Live in Ohio? Call these folks and see what you can do to help: Romney campaign headquarters in Ohio. Don’t live in Ohio? You can and must help!

Has early voting started in your state? Vote now! You’ll be free to HELP on election day. Sign up for Romney’s Election Day Task Force, too; click here!

Taking a cue from the Biden playbook, Barack Obama pulls a face and acts like he’s going to spring from his chair as Mitt Romney makes a point at the presidential debate held at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY on Oct 16, 2012. (photographer unknown)

The presidential debate action at Hempstead, New York, is in the can…

There were tense moments.

Pundits and politicians will be talking for days about the ‘terrorism’ Libya moment – the one where Obama water carrier moderator Candy CNN Crowley interrupted Mitt Romney to side with Obama by injecting her jaw-dropping version of fact-checker. Cutting off the Governor, she sided with the President on remarks he claimed he made in the Rose Garden the day after the attack on our consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Obama said he labeled the attacks as “terror” right away. After the Crowley butt-in, Obama then called from way back on his stool for Crowley to repeat her “fact” louder. Turns out, Obama and Crowley have nothing to crow about:

Democratic strategist Joe Trippi later said on FOX News that it looked like “the ref just threw the flag.”

After the debate, Crowley, who repeatedly cut Romney off, and when all was said and done, bequeathed Obama with 3 minutes and 14 seconds more speaking time than the Governor, tried to back off. She conceded that Romney was “right in the main.”

There’s so much I want to say about Ms. Crowley’s moderating, but I’ll constrain myself and just say she made a disgusting hash of it.

Someone else agrees with me:

Candy Crowley did have one good moment: when she addressed “President Romney” #NotAnError

The 82 voters in the town hall setting were chosen by Gallup and Candy Crowley selected the questions. Romney walked into a stacked game but didn’t back down. Voters saw him as someone with strength, leadership, and a common-sense plan to move America forward. Obama was aggressive, pulled a few Biden-style faces, did a lot of bluffing, and threw in some blaming. He offered NO plan.

“The fact is the United States is on an unsustainable course,” states Ross Perot in his op-ed today in the Des Moines Register endorsing Mitt Romney. (Photo – Michael Mulvey/USA Today)

In today’s Des Moines Register, legendary Texas businessman H. Ross Perot Sr., who twice ran for President himself as an Independent candidate in 1992 and 1996, published his hearty endorsement of Governor Mitt Romney for President of the United States:

Our country faces a momentous choice. The fact is the United States is on an unsustainable course. At stake is nothing less than our position in the world, our standard of living at home and our constitutional freedoms.

That is why I am endorsing Mitt Romney for president. We can’t afford four more years in which debt mushrooms out of control, our government grows and our military is weakened.

For the past four years, we have squandered one opportunity after the next to turn things around. The longer we delay acting, the steeper the price we will have to pay.

Let’s look at the country as it is now.

The American economy is stagnant. Economic growth is insufficient to create enough jobs for a country whose population is growing. The result is unemployment stuck over 8 percent for every single month of Barack Obama’s presidency. We have 23 million Americans who are looking for work and either can’t find a full-time job, can’t find a job at all, or who have given up looking. That is wrong. It’s not the way America ought to be.

At the same time, and not unrelated, is the extraordinary explosion of federal deficits and federal debt. In the last four years during Obama’s presidency, he’s added around $5 trillion to our national debt, more than any previous president. This was accomplished by successive federal budgets that each ran deficits exceeding $1 trillion a year. It is this massive deficit spending that threatens to undermine our future standard of living. To pay for our government’s massive debts, Washington’s profligacy, our children and grandchildren will be paying interest and principal on the nation’s debt for untold years into the future. That is wrong. It’s not the way America ought to be.

Even as we have engaged in runaway domestic spending, the country has been put on the path to massive cuts in the defense budget. President Obama’s own Secretary of Defense has called the proposed cuts “devastating” to our nation’s security. History teaches that the price of military weakness always exceeds the price of preparedness. And yet at a moment when turbulence is sweeping critical regions of the world, we are increasingly unprepared. That is wrong. It’s not the way America ought to be.

It is for these reasons that I am endorsing Mitt Romney. He has spent most of his career in the private sector. He understands how jobs are created. He understands how government can get in the way of that process. As a president, he would do what this administration has been unable to do, which is reform our federal government, pare it back, and — most critically — keep it from acting as a brake on economic growth.

Equally important, as a governor, Mitt Romney balanced the budget of his state for four straight years without raising taxes. Writing in all caps is called shouting, and that fact is something that deserves to be shouted from the rooftops. I should add that Gov. Romney accomplished this feat while working with a legislature that was overwhelmingly under the control of the Democratic Party in one of the most liberal states in the country. In short, although he is a rock-solid conservative, he knows how to reach across the aisle and make common cause with those with whom he disagrees.

These are leadership qualities that are sorely needed in Washington today. President Obama promised a great deal. He has had his chance. The results are visible for all to see. It is time for a new beginning. It is time for Mitt Romney.

(image and emphasis added)

An anti-Obama political sign is posted along the main street in Hillsboro, Va., near Leesburg.
(Photo – Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press)

In 2008 I was set to vote for Barack Obama. We needed change then and we desperately need change now. A late switch in position by Obama on what I considered an important moral issue gave me a chilling view of the character and integrity of one – Barack Obama. I sought an audience with the Obama campaign and demanded and explanation and public renouncement of his change in position on the issue. I received an insulting, weak political reply. This told me everything I needed to know about Barack Obama as a person. Obviously, my vote meant nothing.

My four years under President Obama’s watch have been dismal at best from an economic standpoint. I’m an entrepreneur and have done my best over 25 years to provide a work environment where all are benefited – client, worker, owner and families. In 2008 I had the privilege to employ over 100 people. When you add their families, the responsibility expanded to over 400 individuals. I take that responsibility very seriously.

The four years following 2008 have seen that employee base decline to as few as five people. We are a shadow of what we once were. We continue to work diligently and have made progress, but we are still off 70% from 2008.

I have been forced to work at other business ventures with limited success. I’ve put money and capital in a complimentary venture, but that has produced limited success.

I work with many other entrepreneurs, not one of these is in a better economic position than they were in 2008. Most, if not all, are off at least 50% with little hope of improvement. In my opinion the real test of our economic benchmark is not what improvement may have come in the last year or few months, but where am I now compared to 2008.

I find as I end 2012 and look to 2013 that I am starting over. I’m willing to do this and will work to make it happen. However, we need the freedom to engage in free enterprise without the shackles and chains we are bearing from a government that is supposed to work for us. I turn to the words of Thomas Jefferson from the Declaration of Independence,

“Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it.”

We simply need the freedoms our Constitution guarantees. I believe in people. I believe in the ethic and resilience of this great land. It is time to make tough decisions. It is time to take action. We are willing to sacrifice for our children and generations that follow.

I wish my story was an anomaly, but it is not. I urge all to take a deep look within. Look at where we are today.

Can I afford another four years like the past four years? NO! Can you?

I just paid over $4.70 per gallon for gas from the most economical source in town paying $140 to fill up the tank. I know what this does to my business and my family.

“I am grateful to have the support of so many great Americans who have chosen to be a part of Sportsmen for Romney,” said Mitt Romney. “The wealth of this nation is not only in our industries and our businesses. We are blessed with great natural beauty as well. It is the sportsmen and women of America who keep safe that natural wealth for this generation and many more to come. Hunters, fishermen, sports-shooters, and outdoor enthusiasts not only create millions of jobs and pump billions of dollars into our economy, they stand on the forefront of defending our Second Amendment rights and protecting the natural wonder of our nation. If I am fortunate enough to become president, they will have a friend in the White House.”

“This economic downturn is affecting people and communities at every level,” said Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing and a world-renowned big game hunter and conservationist. “We see across America that people don’t have the discretionary income they used to. People are suffering and they need a change. I know something about leadership, and I know something about running a business. When I look at Mitt Romney, I see a man who is not only a leader, but one who understands what we need to get this economy back on track. That’s why he has my support.”

“Mitt Romney has a proven track record of turning around dysfunctional enterprises,” said five-time Olympic medalist Kim Rhode. “For me, his greatest accomplishment remains his successful effort to save the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. Governor Romney took the Games from scandal to glory, and he did so in the shadow of 9/11, at a time when every American needed something to rally around and something to believe in. Today we face similar challenges. Our economy is hurting, and the American people are looking for someone to lead us back to prosperity. Mitt Romney is that man. We have a choice in this election. We can have another four years like the last four. Or we can join Mitt Romney, turn a corner, and head down a new path. I’m with Mitt, and I hope people across this country will join me.”

“Everyone knows that Mitt Romney is a world class businessman who knows how to create the jobs we need in this country,” said conservationist Rob Keck. “What many people do not know is that Governor Romney is also committed to conservation and understands the role that hunters and sportsmen and women play in conservation. He won’t let the federal government continue to place limits on this critical sector of our economy, and he will restore the prosperity that allows so many Americans to enjoy the natural wonders of our country. I am proud to give him my support.”

The editorial board at Pueblo Chieftain, a print and online news source for the southern portion of swing-state Colorado, today endorsed Mitt Romney.

Excerpts:

It’s Romney

We didn’t endorse Barack Obama’s presidential candidacy four years ago, but after he was elected we congratulated him on his victory and expressed our desire that his presidency would be successful.

But soon after his inauguration, it became clear that his talk of “post-partisanship” and governmental transparency was just that: talk.

…

There has to be a better way, and Mitt Romney is pointing to that way. He has outlined a pro-growth package of initiatives that can get this country humming again.

Here, in a nutshell, are the five basic elements of that package:

…

Cut the federal deficit by reducing federal spending below 20 percent of GDP. “You’re not going to get entrepreneurs to go out and start an enterprise . . . unless they realize we’re not headed to Greece.”

Champion small business by cutting taxes and regulations, and by overturning ObamaCare. “We need small business to grow. . . . Small businesses have been crushed these past four years.”

Then there are the looming crises of Medicare and Social Security. Even Vice President Biden admitted Thursday night they can be sustainable only into the foreseeable future.

Gov. Romney, along with vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, has charted a course to protect current and soon-to-be retirees with full benefits, while restructuring how those two programs can be financed without breaking the budget.

In short, seniors or soon-to-be seniors can rest assured a President Romney won’t pull the rug out from beneath them.

…

And that’s why we urge our fellow Americans to elect Mitt Romney the 45th president of the United States of America.

24 days until the election…

Readers, I hope every single one of you are comMITTed to doing everything humanly possible to ensure a victory on November 6th for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan. Earlier this week, MRC launched a comMITTedfinal-days push to help shine the spotlight on what more can be done in swing states.

Here’s today’s news from The Centennial State, the great western state of COLORADO…

September 23, 2012 – Mitt Romney is greeted by enthusiastic supporters as he takes the stage at a campaign rally in Denver, Colorado. Click on image to enlarge. (Photo – Brian Snyder/Reuters)

Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach wrote a guest column yesterday which was published in Colorado Springs’ The Gazette:

With only a few weeks left until election day, voters are finally tuning in to the presidential election and taking the time to learn about the vision each candidate has for our nation’s future. It’s a big choice indeed, and nowhere has that choice been made clearer than in the recent debates — including the one that took place in Colorado last week.

Barack Obama and Mitt Romney both came into the night with something to prove. President Obama needed to explain why his policies have not succeeded in turning around the economy, and why the voters should believe that he can accomplish in the next four years what he hasn’t accomplished in the last four. Romney also had a challenge. The American people take removing a sitting president very seriously, and if Romney wants our votes, he had to present a concrete plan to end this seemingly endless economic downturn and get Americans back to work.

As it turns out, that night was a microcosm of everything that has been wrong with the Obama presidency. President Obama was inconsistent and unfocused. He was high on rhetoric and low on specifics. He had little in the way of plans, and little in the way of explanation for why his policies haven’t worked over the last four years. And time and time again, President Obama’s platitudes were empty and lacking in substance.

The President wants to create jobs. That’s terrific. But he didn’t provide a plan to lower Colorado Springs’ 9.5 percent unemployment rate besides more taxes and more government spending we can’t afford.Romney provided a very different take. If you want to help business, you need to reduce costs for those businesses. Mitt Romney has explained several ways he will do that. He will cut the cost of energy by opening up the incalculable resources we have here in America. We are in the midst of a natural gas revolution. Untapped oil resources are off our shores and waiting in Canada for the completion of the Keystone Pipeline. We need to explore those resources in an environmentally sound way that will produce millions of jobs and pump billions into our economy.

Governor Romney also told us how he will reduce burdensome regulations — including Obamacare — that add thousands upon thousands of dollars of costs on top of businesses, killing jobs and crushing growth. He’ll cut taxes on small businesses, allowing them to reinvest in their enterprises. He will put creating jobs for the American people first. That will be his priority. That will be his legacy.

In contrast, President Obama’s policies have slowed our economy’s recovery, and his reckless spending habits have saddled our children and grandchildren with another $5.5 trillion in debt. A second term will send our national debt soaring to $20 trillion. Meanwhile, the only part of the budget President Obama seems all too willing to cut has been funding for defense and for our military, threatening some 20,000 Colorado jobs.

There was a moment that night in Denver that was particularly telling. The candidates were given a question about their theory of the role of government. President Obama began, giving a rambling answer about government programs and the new spending he thought the country needed to get back on track.

Governor Romney turned and pointed to the words on the wall behind him. They were from the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Then he talked about America. He talked about dreams and goals deferred in a nation that is thirsting for a real recovery, one that lets them pursue happiness in their own way. In that moment, we weren’t watching another politician or a bureaucrat.

We were watching a president.

(emphasis added)

Remember the raging wildfires in Colorado this summer? Mayor Steve Bach is pictured speaking to the news media near the site of the Waldo Canyon fire on June 28, 2012 in Colorado Springs. (photographer unknown)

The Hill’s Jonathan Easley today summarizes the poll tightening effect Governor Romney’s overwhelming debate victory is having on battleground states. Here’s what he writes about Colorado:

“So you have to scratch your head when the president spends the last week talking about saving Big Bird. I actually think we need to have a president who talks about saving the American people and saving good jobs and saving our future and also saving the family farm.” – Mitt Romney

Our nation and world is at a crossroads. I’m a businessman and have been for over 25 years. I work closely with many other entrepreneurs. I can speak from the realities of those in the trenches. Our economic freedom and opportunity for “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” have never been more in jeopardy. I see it; I live it every day.

Glen Goodsell

Jobs are being lost, particularly in small business – the backbone of our nation’s economy. The statistics and propaganda the government and media are feeding us is misleading. Our situation is dire.

I have a close business associate who will lay off three employees Monday. This represents 30% or more of his work force. One of my businesses, a commercial construction business, will likely lay off 10 employees by month’s end – again, representing over one third of the current employee base. In another separate start-up business we already laid off one third of the work force.

We (small businesses) hope to rehire, but the situation is grim. Frankly, people we do business with say they are reluctant to make any decision to expand or execute contracts due to concerns about the economic direction of our nation. This reluctance stems from the fear we will experience another four years of disastrous leadership in the executive and legislative branches of our Nation’s government. Yes, these fears are directed at the current President of the United States of America.

In my construction business the final quarter is typically a boom quarter where clients look to spend budgeted funds or look to an optimistic start to a new year. Unfortunately, this is not the case this year.

These are some realities from a businessman who is working the streets every day:

Unemployment in reality is two to three times what the government and media want us to believe.

The number of those underemployed is staggering.

Owners of small business by the thousands would add to the ranks of the unemployed, but don’t qualify for relief. They may be out of business or on the verge of going out of business.

I took a short drive on the freeway Saturday with my son and daughter to a specialty retail shop. I was shocked as I noticed several empty places of business and signs soliciting space for lease. These signs were like litter along the freeway.

I believe in our Nation. I believe in the people of this great land. I believe in the entrepreneurial leadership this land has spawned over decades. We (the people) need to be set free from our present shackles and chains. This can only happen in a timely manner if we are given a change in leadership in our government. It is time to clean up the litter. That change needs to happen NOW!

Glen Goodsell is a husband, father, entrepreneur, and humanitarian. He is married to Amy and they have five children (two married and three are miracles through adoption and are African American). Glen is a businessman, CPA, and has a master’s degree. He has spent the last 25 years as an owner of a construction business as well as various other business ventures. He loves people, has a passion for helping youth, and has served as a Boy Scout Master for many years. Glen spent his childhood years in the Washington, D.C. area. This provided a foundation for his love of American history, particularly our founding fathers. He lives in Southern California where he and his family live an active life with a love of the outdoors.